A Russian government helicopter transporting high-ranking officials crashes on landing near Moscow: details of the accident.
MOSCOW - A Mil Mi-8 helicopter has crashed at Vnukovo International Airport, located about 16 miles southwest of the center of the Russian capital Moscow.
As the Russian state news
agency Interfax
reports, the helicopter hit the ground with the rotor blades and the tail on landing.
"On landing, the helicopter's propeller caught on the ground and damaged the tail section," the airport source told the agency.
FR.de reported on this from Ippen.Media.
According to aviation
publication Aerotime Hub
, the helicopter is part of the Rossiya special aviation division, which operates planes used to transport Russian government officials.
It is unclear who was on board the helicopter and if anyone was injured in the incident.
Contradictory information came from Russia.
The emergency services, quoted by
Interfax
, said there are "according to preliminary information," also citing a source at the airport who said no one was injured in the incident.
Crashed helicopters often transport Putin across Russia
The Russian Telegram channel
Mash
also posted a picture of the crash, which showed the word "Rossiya" on the helicopter's livery and the tail rotor blades appeared to have been sheared off.
"According to our information, it is a 2013 Mi-8MTV-1 built for 22 passengers," the post reads.
Citing data from flight radar portal
Adsbexchange.com
,
Aerotime Hub
reported that between Friday morning and Friday afternoon, only three AgustaWestland AW139 helicopters from Rossiya served the airport, meaning the Mi-8MTV-1 was likely with them turned off the transponder.
Accordingly, the incident had already occurred on January 27th.
According to Aerotime
, Rossiya operates 15 Mil Mi-6MTV helicopters, which have special defenses and other modifications to protect VIP passengers.
The helicopters often transport Russian President Vladimir Putin around Russia, supplementing his fleet of long-haul Il-96 planes and other jets.
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According to
Interfax
, the hard landing could have been caused by poor weather conditions or equipment failure.
The Ukrainian news portal
Ukrainska Pravda
reported that it was a pilot error.
Ukraine investigates helicopter crash near Kyiv
Separately, Ukrainian authorities are investigating the Jan. 18 helicopter crash that killed Ukraine's Interior Minister Denys Monastyrsky and about a dozen others, including a child on the ground.
Five senior government officials were killed in the crash near a kindergarten in the Kiev suburb of Brovary, including Yevhen Jenin and Interior Ministry Secretary Yuriy Lubkovych.
Last week, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy met the families of the victims during a memorial service where the coffins were draped with the blue and yellow flag of Ukraine.
(vw)
